How’s this for a random team up? Guru is joined for a freestyle by Harlem World’s Ma$e and Blinky Blink when all three were at the Tim Westwood show back in 1998. It’s more of a Blinky and Ma$e showcase with Guru dropping in here and there but it’s certainly you should check out.

ESPN’s new African American culture website “The Undefeated” recently spotlighted the artwork for Gang Starr’s classic Daily Operation. The site spoke to photographer Matt Gunther about the photo shoot that led to the legendary cover and here are a couple of excerpts.

As happens in the creative process, ideas changed. Soon it was decided that the cover would have a Last Supper theme — as Gang Starr affiliates Group Home and Jeru The Damaja were featured on the project. “We rented an old mansion on Madison Avenue [in New York City] because we … needed a big space,” says Gunther. “We were supposed to shoot during the day … had the venue from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.” Gang Starr and their crew of about 20 didn’t show up until 6 or 7 that night. Label representatives fumed. “We slept during the day while waiting for them,” he said. And when they did arrive — Gunther wasn’t caught off guard by the amount of marijuana smoke and malt liquor that followed the crew into the mansion. “It was,” he says, “a fun, s— show.”

Tim Westwood continues to drop excellence in the form of these vintage freestyles. For this edition, he digs back to the year 2000 when the late Guru and the artist formally known as Sense kick rhymes over Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode.”

A slew of demos from Jeru The Damaja have surfaced that were all produced by the legendary Guru. Recorded back in 1991-1992, the demos are vintage Jeru and precede the release of his debut album The Sun Rises In The East. Definitely dope to listen to Jeru and Guru work together on these songs.

The latest installment of “Magnum Opus” from good folks at Complex covers the making of Gang Starr’s legendary “Mass Appeal.” With input from the likes of DJ Premier, Big Shug, Jadakiss, Fat Joe, Stretch Armstrong, journalists Chairman Mao and Noah Callahan-Bever as well as managers Patrick Moxey and Phat Gary, you’ll get the full story of one of hip hop’s classic records.

There are few rap acts that stuck to their guns quite like Gang Starr. Comprised of DJ Premier the late, great Guru, the duo’s sound came to define the purist hip-hop standard of the ’90s. They crafted a style that was true to New York despite the fact that neither of them actually hailed from New York. The duo never sold millions and millions of records, but they never made a bad album either. While they made plenty of great songs, in 1994 they released “Mass Appeal”—the quintessential Gang Starr record and a song truly worthy of a Magnum Opus treatment.

We got with DJ Premier, Guru’s close friend Big Shug of Gang Starr Foundation, and the group’s managers Patrick Moxey and Phat Gary to talk about the making of the song. What we found out is that despite the fact that the song made fun of rappers who aspired for mass appeal, Guru’s actually aspired for commercial relevance himself. But, of course, the group never abandoned their aesthetic. Ironically, “Mass Appeal” became the group’s biggest hit thanks in part to Premier’s hypnotic beat.

We also talked to Fat Joe, Jadakiss, and Stretch​ Armstrong about the group’s lasting impact and legacy. And to round things out, veteran hip-hop journalist Chairman Mao and Complex’s own Editor-In-Chief Noah Callahan-Bever explained how Gang Starr took the road less taken to achieve their legendary status.

Boston’s Avrex pays visual tribute with the video for “Propaganda” that is produced by DJ Lord Ron and utilizes some unreleased Guru lyrics. With cameos from Ice-T and Sadat X, the video pays homage to Keith Elam’s legacy as Avrex and Big Shug drop some not so subtle shots at a certain individual.

It’s hard to believe that it has been five years since we have lost G.ifted U.nlimited R.hymes Universal., otherwise known as GURU and one half of Gang Starr. But his musical legacy will forever live on. With that, the good folks at Cookin Soul put together this brilliant mix that pays homage to GURU.

Keith Elam aka Guru (Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal) was a big influence for us, his Jazzmatazz series showed the world the fusion of Jazz & Hip-Hop paving the way to other styles like neosoul… Not to mention Gangstarr, still one of our favourite groups of all time… tomorrow April 19th will mark the 5th anniversary of his death…